for the amount you pay at the mercedes dealership on parts, labor and problems, you honestly could probably buy two a8s.

i never liked anything about mercedes. the fact that they are so obsessed with squeezing more money out of you than they are worth is pretty much the name of their game. they charge you for absolutely everything, even when you buy a new car and it comes with loads of problems.

i would never own a mercedes, there's pretty much nothing nice about them.

 

yea well i had a 2001 mb clk430 and that thing sucked i mean the the front right suspension broke my electronics where messed up i just hate mb's thats why i switched to audi

 

Audi A8 L is best of mercedes s550.Hi is one od best cars on big world.

 

I have to step in for a minute, I own all three brands of cars, 7 series, audi (tt) and a Mercedes c class. You will find that the A8 or the brand new Lexus will be your best options.

The new S class, looks like a huge hundyi in my opinon....go Audi...or Lexus... I'm extremely impressed with its features and options... not to mention they are less money to maintain then all three cars i've brought up....

hopefully in a few years I can get the lexus...

Cheers!

~Chris

 

I just bought a 2004 A8L. I looked at the S500, the 7 series, as well as an M3 even. The 7 series is great, but it's a little too stiff for a luxury ride. The S500 is nice, but is almost too soft. The A8 is the ultimate balance and combination of the worlds of refinement, engineering, performance, and luxury. I made the best choice when going with my A8L, and the only thing that I would possibly considering changing to is the W12 version of the same ride. Go with the A8, and you will never look back.

 

Not to sure about the Merc's. They have a great ride and are full of gizmos. I recently bought a 2005 Audi A8L. In Dallas, Tx and drove it back to The seattle. area. I've looked at the 750i and the A8L for almost 2 yrs now and have to say I really love the A8. My wife's aunt pruchased a new 750i 1 week before I made my final decision. I dorve it and thought the handling and impressive 360hp were marvelous, but I couldn't get past the i Drive. Whoever designed that crap should be fired. It's not intuitive, has too many basic features burried deep in the submenus, and takes too much time away from you actually looking at the road. I've put 3k miles on it since I purchased it on 28 Dec 06 and have to say I feel I absolutely made the right desicion. For $46K I got a 2005 A8L, 13,500miles (remaining warranty with full service until 50K from audi), bluetooth, paddle shifters, seat massage/ventilation, wood steering wheel, power trunk, ski sack, rear seat heat, solar sunroof, keyless entry, 6disc changer, nav, and much more. Try doing that in a Merc for any remotely sensible price. I admit I wish it had a bit more power, but I own this in the US, not germany. The smooth transmission, quiet interior, and 335hp are all I need. The "mood" lighting at night is really cool too. If you go for a test drive make sure you do it at night, that's when you get to see all the different lighting shemes. The ride home with my 6yr old daughter from Dallas to Tx through the New Mexico Snow storm, Arizona, and Cais something we'll never forget. I can personnally vouch for the Quattro all wheel drive system after my 250mile detour through the snow in New Mexico when they shut downI40. It never missed a beat. This car rocks. JMHO, but I'd take this car over anything else. 1 area of improve ment could be the owner's manual. Programming names and destinations into the directory and then storing them by name tags is not exactly intutive. Of course over the3 day drive home I was able to figure out the system.

PS - as an added bonus my 6yr and 4 yr old daughter can no longer kidk the back of my seat anymore when I'm driving.

 

I have been looking at these forums for about a week now and the reason i am here is because i am tired of the mercedes. The amounts MB is charging for service are ridiculous especially since they can't justify why i have to pay so much. In my opinion, even after reading the maintennce costs on an A8, i still come out cheaper as the last time i took the MB in for an oil change they looked me straight in the face and told me it was $500.00 US as the car was out of warranty (only 32,000 miles) i asked what they did for a 500 oil change and it was not explained satisfactorily(also i have hadalot ofcomputer glitches with this car). So,long story short i am getting the A8L..live and learn.
I am not sure what size tires go on the S550 but i know that MB likes to use very hard to find tire sizes that no keeps in stock but MB (if you stick with OEM) and then there is the small detail of there are two size bolts( one for the regular tire and one for the spare), you don't want to know how much that cost me when a good samaritan helped my wife change a flat and put in the wrong bolts. Whole new hub assembly after only 40 miles of driving and the labor was cheap then 75 per hour.

 

How is it out of warranty after 32K miles?

 

unfortunately, i spend more time on planes and in rentals than actually driving my own cars. The car is five years old. The warranty i believe was 5 years or 100,000 miles and the car is a 2002 clk55.
Actually, i am looking the paperwork and the warranty was 4 yearsor 50,000 miles.